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June 17, 2015

We were not alone.

We didn't really know how to ask for it, but when Jade was having her seizures and when we were struggling to beat them, we had a lot of help. It came out of the woodwork. It came from friends, neighbours, medical professionals, acquaintances, strangers, and other parents who were or still are fighting childhood epilepsy.

Even small things were big things for us. And, still, I don't really know how to express my gratitude to all those who helped us - sometimes before we even realized we needed it. Even when people couldn't help but wanted to, it was amazing just to know that we were not alone.

It was that kind of support that helped us to achieve an outcome like this, which was recently covered by Dave Croft on CBC North. The article was shared widely, even making it onto the front page of Yahoo.ca.

And it was this coverage that made it even more clear that WE WERE NOT ALONE.

In response to the article, Fawn has been contacted by numerous parents and guardians who are losing their children to epilepsy. There are far too many.

Fawn was also contacted by Jim Abrahams from the Charlie Foundation. If you're not dealing with childhood epilepsy, you might be familiar with some of Jim's work. If you are dealing with childhood epilepsy and, in particular, the ketogenic diet, you are undoubtedly familiar with some of Jim's work.

Jim has been telling stories of battling and overcoming childhood epilepsy for a while now. If you haven't seen this Golden Globe-nominated movie he directed (starring Meryl Streep), you really should.

Jim closed his message to Fawn with the following:

"Thank you for sharing your story. I can promise that as a result other kids will get better."

He's right. Sharing our story helped us, too. Sharing our story helped us to realize that we were not alone.

Thanks, Dave Croft, for helping us to tell our story so other kids can get better, too.